Making the Most of the Male Singing Mix

Men, as your falsetto gets stronger, it’s time to mix it up to strengthen the notes that were once purely falsetto sounds. In the male voice, when the muscles that create chest voice and head voice work at the same time, it’s called a mix.

If you use a blend of 50 percent chest voice and 50 percent head voice, you’re describing what happens in the middle part of your voice. You can also vary that percentage to use more chest voice or head voice, or mix up the percentage. Depending on where you are in your range, the mix can be more head voice dominated or chest voice dominated.

In singing just one note, you can start in falsetto and then add faster airflow and a high resonance to make the note head voice dominated. This head voice–dominated mix is more common at the higher end of the male voice; a chest voice–dominated mix is more common in the chest voice range.

If you add some weight or thickness as you sing the note and keep the resonance low, you move into a mix that is chest voice dominated. Mix for the male voice is similar to mix for the female voice because you can vary the amount of weight and resonance you use when you mix.

Mixrequires you to find a balance of the muscles that create head voice and chest voice. If the muscles that help you create chest voice are too active while you try to sing high notes, the sound becomes heavy and may even break or crack.

Allowing the muscles that create head voice or chest voice to engage at the appropriate time ensures smooth transitions from the top of your voice to the bottom.

Remember that you can sing the exact same notes two different ways: You can sing the F just above Middle C in your falsetto or in your head voice. Having the strength to make either choice gives you a chance to decide what kind of sound you want to make in each song.